"Indiana, Indiana is told in a polyphonic delirium, an incantatory whirlwind that disorients us as it strives to deliver Noah from the pain of his separation from Opal. . . . It is a tender, youthful novel, an ode to devotional romantic love that seems almost otherworldly in its innocence and to the quiet gothic landscape of Indiana, as benevolent as it is unsettling." -Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, from the introduction
Praise for
Indiana, Indiana "Laird Hunt is a marvelous writer and a gutsy one–in
Indiana, Indiana he offers an intimate reverie of people and place that, for its lyricism, odd humor, and delicacy, evokes the early Ondaatje."
–Rikki Ducornet "As everyone who read
The Impossibly knows, Laird Hunt's ability to create a sense of otherworldliness is astonishing.
Indiana, Indiana resonates for miles."
–Amy Fusselman "Like the best American writers, Laird Hunt is recasting the American song, lyrically and philosophically. His novels are smart and refreshing and genuinely unusual. He's a seeker, in the best literary sense. He's looking for and finding vivid language and forms, ways to write what he sees and understands about his and our weird, fortunate, and troubled lives and times."
–Lynne Tillman Praise for Zorrie Finalist, National Book Awards 2021 for Fiction
Kirkus, "Best Books of 2021"
Oprah Daily, "Most Anticipated Historical Fiction Novels of 2021" "A virtuosic portrait of midcentury America itself―physically stalwart, unerringly generous, hopeful that tragedy can be mitigated through faith in land and neighbor alike. . . . This is not fiction as literary uproar. This is a refined realism of the sort Flaubert himself championed, storytelling that accrues detail by lean detail. . . . Hunt's prose is galvanized by powerful questions. Who were those forebears who tilled the land for decades, seemingly without complaint? How did they fashion happiness, or manage soaring passions, in their conformist communities? He re-examines the pastoral with ardent precision. . . . What Hunt ultimately gives us is a pure and shining book, an America where community becomes a 'symphony of souls, ' a sustenance greater than romance or material wealth for those wise enough to join in."
–New York Times Book Review "A slim yet profound portrait of the life of an Indiana woman named Zorrie, spanning a humble lifetime shaped by the events of the 20th century."
–USA Today "
Zorrie is a quiet novel about an ordinary life. And when you're ordinary, you need resilience like Zorrie's to survive in an uncaring world. Laird Hunt's short and affecting novel follows Zorrie Underwood's life from childhood in Depression-era Indiana, when she's orphaned, to early adulthood, when she's left on her own, to an eventual marriage and working life."
–Oprah Daily "Through an ordinary life of hard work and simple pleasures, Zorrie comes to learn the real wonder is life itself. A quiet, beautifully done, and memorable novel."
–Library Journal, starred review "The National Book Award finalist of a novel packs a whole, absorbing hu
